laura kasischike has published eight selections of poetry. most recently faith in changing 2011 for which she received the national book critics circle award. she has been a guggenheim fellow and has won two fellowships from the national endowment for the arts, and she's also published several novels. please help me welcome laura kasischike. [applause] ♪ ♪ >> what i did on my summer vacation. this was a summer a number of beliefs i held to be self evident were developed. the first belief was that by poets put in a metaphorical room together and told to agree on, well, anything, let alone decide what the five most moving beautifully crafted, humbling, deserving and mind blowing books in a pile of hundreds of books could never in fact do so without, if not bloodshed, serious podium. i took on this task thinking it would be mostly worthwhile and interesting, not that i would have for new enemies out there in the poetry world. it didn't happen that way. we agreed early on and easily that we were in search of enduring merit. and that was all.